Sunday, March 31, 2013

It all started when my older cuz Josh burned me a stack of CD-R's full of pirated music; I couldn't really tell you what was in there... But probably some Beastie Boys, mid-90's Ska, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, mash-ups, and Ryan Adams - "To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High)." It's a self-loathing Alt. Country romper pulled from Adam's solo debut, Heartbreaker (2000), which was later featured in Accepted and Old School. Ryan Adams' abridged discography includes about 13 albums and he's recorded [and vaulted] records-full of everything from Death Metal to Hip-Hop and unreleased Vampire Weekend/The Strokes covers CD-R's. Judd Apatow's latest film, This Is 40 showcases a specially-formed Ryan Adams Band along with keyboardist Ian McLagan (The Faces) who performed during it's final scenes. Ryan Adams even contributed re-recorded live tracks for inclusion on it's soundtrack, "Lucky Now" and "Shine Through The Dark."

Ryan Adams' latest band, Pornography seems to have been formed sometime between 2002-12, but just revealed their sheer presence this past March. "Ryan Adams & Johnny T. Yerington, whose [past work] includes drumming and co-writing credits on the former's 2003 album Rock "N" Roll, had a chance encounter with Leah Hennessey at her (sort of) workplace that quickly led to her unknowingly auditioning for their band, The Finger. By the close of a 2-hour session that went incredibly well, it was decided this would be a new band entirely -- one she then named Pornography. The three of them were well on their way to writing and recording 7 Minutes In Heaven and another EP and album's-worth of material," a press release explained. Pornography have pressed up a limited run of 7 Minutes In Heaven 45's for this year's sixth annual Record Store Day festivities, April 20th @ a record store near you. Ryan Adams' other un-named band are playing a round of LIVE shows and are rumored to be prepping a batch of material for a 2013 release.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Vampire Weekend successfully managed to engage car enthusiasts nation-wide after torching 2 Saab 900's for use in their "Diane Young" [promo] video; It's unclear what kind of condition the cars were in when Vampire Weekend's team acquired the used vehicles. The Internet-savvy gearheads @ Jalopnik even penned a heated article titled "Vampire Weekend Are a Bunch of Dicks," which essentially calls out the band. Refuting claims that the 2 Saabs were sold under sketchy circumstances and "torched like a pile of leaves," frontman Ezra Koenig blessed Spinner with quite a few choice words/quotes: "I want people to understand that we do respect cars and the last thing we want to do is to fuck up a collector's item or something like that. Hopefully people believe me when I say that our record label was trying to purchase the cheapest, oldest cars possible; They weren't trying to buy a beautiful perfect condition car."

Koenig then continued, "If the people selling their cars felt misled by the production company that bought them... of course if we had been there, if we had been a part of it, we would never lie to somebody just to get a car -- We could have easily found something else... From what I understand, those old ones actually had a lot of electrical problems." But regardless, Vampire Weekend debuted 3 fairly-new Modern Vampires of The City tracks last night @ Canadian-based show QTV, which was just pushed back a week to May 14th. Around Dec. 2010, Ezra Koenig joked with MTV News that the new [then untitled] Vampire Weekend record was drawing inspiration from failed big-budget romantic comedies like The Love Guru, Bride Wars, The Rocker, Kate Hudson, and "Dwight" from The Office.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

"Wild for The Night" is a pretty vain take on Hip-Hop's own version of the infamous "sex, drugs & Rock "N" Roll" lifestyle, that's quickly become a crusin' around/weekend ramp up kinda jam for my friends and I amongst countless 20-something Middle Americans. A$AP Rocky released it's debauchery-filled music video a couple days ago, which stars A$AP Mob, Skrillex, and Birdy Nam Nam rippin' it up throughout the Dominican Republic. Looks like Rocky & friends pissed away RCA/Polo Grounds' big budget allotted towards "Wild for The Night" and director Chris Robinson just happened to tag along and film all the hi-jinx that ensued. We're talkin' about everyday/above-average shit like hanging out on rooftops, gun-toting children, practicing karate kicks with friends, seducing hunnies on the beach, motorcycle burn-outs, a late night club gig, etc. The always fashionableA$AP Rocky sports a number of DKNY x Opening Ceremony, Balenciaga, Goyard, Timbaland, Jean Paul Gaultier, Pyrex Vision, and Nike-accented outfits throughout the course of "Wild for The Night;"Skrillex even manages to sneak in an EXCLUSIVE, glitched out remix during the video's final minutes. While LONGLIVEA$AP's literally chock-full of great non-sequiturs, I guess my favourite lines here would have to be, "Benjamin 3 Stacks, it's a fact, she lives in my lap / on my OutKast, daddy fat, bitches on my sack / and you know them soaking."

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

"Tuxedo Funk EP," a mysterious 3-track quick-strike EP was quietly uploaded online about a week ago. It's been slowly picking up steam across The Blogosphere and I finally gave it a listen late Monday night, too. Blue-Eyed Soul crooner Mayer Hawthorne is quite obviously the man handling vocal duties over top of what's rumored to be smooth production work from either Jake-One, RAC, or Dâm-Funk. The unique blend of Soul-Funk, Doo-Wop, Hip-Hop, and EDM ends up sounding something like Bruno Mars meets Daft Punk [or just Chromeo] ha. Supposedly cloaked in secrecy due to label-binding contracts, I'm sure Tuxedo's true identities will be revealed eventually; But regardless, there's more Funk housed in these 3 tracks than on Red Hot Chili Pepper's failed 3-album opus, Stadium Arcadium (2006). "Do It" is hands down, my personal favourite track, after a few early listens. Tuxedo Funk's opener is nearly 4:15 of blazin' Disco-Funk FIRE that's almost hard to describe in sheer words... so, just head on over to Tuxedo's newly-established Soundcloud page, download their EP, and give it a spin! Stones Throw recently re-released a 12 x 45 box set of Hawthorne's major label debut, How Do You Do? (2011). While it might not have been intentional or extremely malicious, Mayer Hawthorne seemingly fired a lone subliminal shot aimed @ Justin Timberlake; who arguably, jacked his whole Blue-Eyed Soul style for best-selling new album, The 20/20 Experience... Tuxedo vs. "Sit & Tie!?"

Monday, March 25, 2013

Anyone remember a period in time... oh, maybe 10-12 years ago when guys like Lil' Wayne & Fred Durst were still socially relevant and putting out 1/2 decent music? The most interesting thing that Lil' Wayne's done in recent memory was going into a spurt of codeine-induced seizures (allegedly) and Limp Bizkit signed to his label, Cash Money around this time last year, supposedly broke up, and re-formed since. Needless to say, a Limp Bizkit/Wayne collabo would've likely sounded pretty AWESOME, had it been released between Chocolate Starfish & The Hot Dog Flavored Water and Tha Carter III (2000-08). But as rough as I've made this track sound so far, if Lil' Wayne's still going for that whole slightly dated sleaze-soaked Rap-Rock vibe, Limp Bizkit's probably your go-to band of knuckleheads. "Ready to Go" has been in-the-works for the larger part of a year, since initially inking a deal with Cash Money, and was finally unleashed this past weekend.

It's nothing particularly Earth-shattering, in-depth, or insightful; But even if you're a casual fan of either artist, I'd say this one's worth checking out... for @ least 2-3 of "Ready to Go"'s 6-minute runtime. Fred Durst somehow manages to slam everyone from Lady GaGa to rumored ex-fling Britney Spears [in one breath] over a hard-hitting Polow Da Don-produced beat: "Back it's the motherfucking Rock God / I'm so poker-faced, ladies going Ga-Ga... The one to have Britney drop it to her knees (OOOOOOOH!) / Bitch, get at me if that ass is like Jessica Biel's!" Limp Bizkit are currently writing/recording their Cash Money debut along with long-time producer Ross Robinson that's tentatively titled Stampede of The Disco Elephants, which is the follow-up to their recent "comeback album" Gold Cobra (2011). While a solid release date has yet to be determined, I am Not a Human Being II drops tomorrow, March 26th. Limp Bizkit & Lil' Wayne are planning to head out on 2 separate but concurrent tours, an untitled tour running from April 25-June 16th and "America's Most Wanted Music Festival" with T.I. & Future.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Anyone think Kendrick Lamar & Ab-Soul got a little confused?; because it sounds like they seriously think AWOLNATION's break-out single, "Sail" (2001) is new or something. It's also worth noting that AWOLNATION's original track is featured in a commercial for History's BADASS-looking Vikings show! ha. The Black Hippy/TDE soldiers decided to hop on what sounds like an on-the-fly "Sail" (Remix) for L.A. Leakers, who's DJ tags are littered all over it. From what I can gather, the tragically-named DJ sourMILK switched out most of the band's spaced out guitar licks for some slightly more Hip-Hop friendly drum hits. Take it away, Mr. Lamar: "I'm warning you though, if you love me you never go wrong / We can explore heavy feelings of breathing in Mother Nature's air / Feelings of knowing I'm rather rare / But there's a reason for all of my madness, the gladness I am that your here."

Fingers crossed that a re-released tag-less version comes out sooner than later, but until then... There's the [sub-par, might I add] "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe"(Jay-Z Remix) that was unveiled earlier this week. But in all reality, Jay-Z's remix is only 1/2 as good as it's, excuse my French, f**king awesome companion black-and-white Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant-featuring cover art. The only weirder musical pairing I can think of in recent memory is that Passion Pit/Juicy J remix. If nothing else, both AWOLNATION & Black Hippy are made up of wildly creative 20-30-somethings hailing from Los Angeles, CA. If you haven't already, scoop up copies of these dudes' recent genre-blending albums: Megalithic Symphony, good kid, m.A.A.d city, and Control System. I'd expect to see a "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" (Jay-Z Remix) get a major music video/radio single push within the next month or so, too.

Friday, March 22, 2013

"Unfortunately we're WAY over budget, uh so we couldn't take out a real commercial; But here's this one," Kurt Vile lamented as he launched into a fairly low-budget "Never Run Away" info-mercial. Airing Wednesday on local Philly area network The CW (channel 57), Vile simply 'drops the needle' on his record player, pops a squat, and lets his 3-year-old daughter dance around their living room. Matador Records will release the proper follow-up to Kurt Vile & The Violators' last album, Smoke for My Halo (2011) this upcoming April 9th; Wakin' on a Pretty Daze is already being toted as a slightly cleaned up, dialed back version of The War on Drugs-affiliated guitarist's scuzzed out lo-fi blend of Indie Rock/Folk -- Kurt Vile himself has dubbed the sound, "Prog-Pop." While it's the single version, which could imply that there's a longer album-length version... previously released album opener, "Wakin' on a Pretty Daze" clocks in @ a WHOPPING 9 minutes! Wakin' on a Pretty Daze's old school-stylized spray painted building sign [mural] cover art was designed by Philly-based graphic artist, Steve Powers (ESPO). Kurt Vile has a hometown gig lined @ Union Transfer on May 18th along with openers Steve Gunn and Angel Olsen #*.

Last week, Death Grips uploaded 5 minute-long semi-cryptic clips dubbed "No Hands" (Parts 1-5), which I hesitated on posting because I kinda figured there'd be more info revealed shortly. Sure enough, by mid-Wednesday afternoon, Death Grips had uploaded the next installment of their video series, "Lock your doors" (NoHands 6). Drummer/band leaded Zach Hill further elaborated in a short [yet effective] statement, "They are a series of videos related to our recent first-person performance @ SXSW 2013, DXDG. "Lock your doors" (NoHands 6), which drops today is the summarization of the concept and project.. It could keep going.. NoHands is in reference to the head perspective-oriented filming.." It's culled from footage filmed @ the band's recent SXXW (or DXDG) show @ Boiler Room, which may or may not have used Google Glass technology or some sort of face-mounted goggle-cams. The live audio and crowd-sourced rumblings have been subsequently re-mixed/mastered against Death Grips' righteous NO LOVE DEEP WEB studio tracks.

Keep in mind that just last year: The self-proclaimed "non-commercial" Noise-Punk/Hip-Hop band signed an ill-fated major label deal with Epic Records and quite hastily, promised 2 full-lengths by year's end. Once the relationship with label exec. and X-Factor judge, L.A. Reid started to sour... engineer Andy "Flatlander" Morin quit the band, private emails were leaked online, and Death Grips ultimately self-released NO LOVE DEEP WEB complete with dick pic cover art. Needless to say, Epic soon dropped Death Grips as Nov. 1, 2012 approached and they've remained relatively quiet ever since. "Come up and get me," a largely silent short film was captured @ the band's make-shift Chateu Marmont headquarters where they finished up and eventually leaked NO LOVE DEEP WEB; Death Grips unleashed the 13-minute black-and-white clip @ the brink of 2013, after almost 2 months-worth of complete media silence. Who knows if MC Ride & Zach Hill will ever do business with a major label again or better yet, how they'll manage to shock and appall the world next!

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

It seems as though Danny Brown & A$AP Rocky's new-found friendship is based around a shared love for middle-aged women with "big tits and curvey asses" ... kinda like Kathy Griffin, for example; The 2 young emcees seem to have met while taking part in Noisey/VICE's 5-part Back-and-Forth interview series. It was here that they first lamented about Miss Griffin's dangerously delicious curves: "Who dat - The lady from Family Guy!? Kathy Griffin got a fatty, n*gga! The silly, goofy bitch" Once she heard they were both DTF, Kathy Griffin was surprisingly flattered and had A$AP Rocky, Danny Brown, and Russell Brand appear on her Bravo TV show, "Kathy"(Valentine's Day).

But anyways, while they have yet to trade bars on a LEGIT label-sanctioned track, looks like that'll all soon change with Old (Brown's rumored August album). Danny Brown leaked a partially unfinished version of "Kush Coma" late Tuesday afternoon after fans got #kushcoma tending on Twitter in less than 30 minutes. The album cut will eventually features an additional A$AP Rocky verse and Bruiser Brigade soldier ZELOOPERZ on the hook, too. Frequent collaborator SKYWLKR produced the hard-hitting, 80's video game-referencing beat. His production work will appear alongside fellow up-and-coming artists like kitty pryde, 2 Black Hippes, Purity Ring, Rustie, Oh No, Darq E Freaker, Paul White, and Charli XCX. Danny Brown's headed out on a MASSIVE 3-part trek dubbed "The Old & Reckless Tour" with Baauer, kitty pryde, and Lunice which'll criss-cross across America/Europe from April 9-August 15th.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

For argument's sake, I guess I've always been an Usher fan... or @ least an admirer of Mr. Raymond's sheer talent and work ethic. I can vaguely remember nervously asking a few P.Y.T.'s to dance to "U Got It Bad" (2001) @ those painfully cheese-tastic 7-8th grade dances. Paraphrasing Pitchfork staff writer Ryan Dombal, it was an oddly-matched collaboration that no one expected, let alone asked for. But somehow still managed to greatly surpass everyone's non-existent expectations: Friday night @ FADER Fort(SXSW), Usher wandered on-stage with The Afghan Whigs mid-way through their "Climax" cover. Frontman Greg Dulli & Usher then launched into spirited, guitar-driver renditions of both artists' more well-known tracks, "Somethin' Hot" and scorching set-closer, "OMG."

Former-Yeasayer member and solo artist Sinkane (Ahmed Gallab) came on stage to perform a super-Funky version of his own single, "Runnin'" with Usher & Afghan Whigs, too. This is by NO means a fashion blog and I wouldn't say I'm the most fashionable guy around, but WTF was Usher wearing; a 90's bucket hat and some sort of weird leopard print/leather jacket hybrid!? ha. Usher lamented @ one point, "This [one's] all about havin' a good time, cause that's what SXSW is all about. Just findn' the groove and enjoying yourself!" The FADER filmed and uploaded HD video of The Afghan Whigs' complete 40-minute set and Usher comes out around the 15-minute mark. After sending out some good vibes to hospitalized and seizing friend, Lil' Wayne, Usher even came back out for an a capella encore once the band left the stage; We're talkin' about sparse, beat-box-backed renditions of "Bad Girl," "U Got It Bad," and "Lovers and Friends."

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Before jet-setting off to SXSW March 15-16th for a secret showcase with ?uestlove & RJD2, Justin Timberlake stopped by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon for Night 5 of what's being dubbed, #JustinTimberWeek. Ramping up the long-awaited release of The 20/20 Experience this upcoming Tuesday, March 19th, Timberlake decided to string together a medley of greatest hits for the last performance of his week-long stay @ Late Night: "Like I Love You/My Love/Cry Me a River" and "Señorita." Joined on-stage by his 10-piece band, The Tennessee Kids, Justin Timberlake launched into a slow-building acoustic/electric performance that ended up lasting almost 11 sweltering minutes! Anybody else notice that saucy-looking Spanish or white chick singing back-up and cuttin' a rug!? "It feels like something's heating up, can I leave with you?" is what I'd like to holla @ a beautiful girl like that... to which she'd likely reply, "I don't know but I'm thinking 'bout, really leaving with you" (in an ideal, non-existent world ha).

Justin Timberlake smoothly inter-wove fragments of 2 modern Hip-Hop tracks, "Bandz a Make Her Dance" and "Niggas In Paris" into "Cry Me a River," for savvy Hip-Hopheads. It's pretty damn AMAZING that songs dating as far back as 2002 can still sound this relevant and fresh, especially after a 6+ year-long hiatus. A shortlisted rundown of the week's most memorable events might include: a Michael MacDonald skit-duet, a bracefaced cover of "Africa"The Roots-assisted "Let The Groove Get In,""The History of Rap"'s 25-track resurgence (Part 4), bookended by 2 semi-revealing interviews, a trove of unreleased new album cuts, and a barber shop quartet. Kinda makes me wish I'd bought tickets to Justin Timberlake & Jay-Z's upcoming "Legends of Summer" [baseball] stadium tour. It's also worth mentioning that over the course of the last week or 2, nearly everyone from Four Tet to The Hood Internet (above) have crafted up original "Suit & Tie" remixes.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

VH1's downright gorgeous Carrie Keagan keeps throwing to Jim James' newly-released music video/single, "A New Life" during Big Morning Buzz's commercial breaks. It's an oddly endearing acoustic-R&B hybrid jam from his premier My Morning Jacket-less solo album, Regions of Light & Sound of God. Jim James says it's all partially based off a 1929 wood-cut book where a struggling artist sells his soul to The Devil in exchange for a magic paintbrush... "A New Life" [obviously] finds him @ the part where he falls off a cliff/in love with a woman who nurses him back to health. Man, I've gotta admit, Jim James really has that whole crazy/weird Hipster-fied cool vibe down pat these days; We're talkin' about a buffalo-headed girl, sharply-dressed back-up dancers, Jim James and a time-crippled lover, portal-opening doors, and just general desert weirdness.

Regions of Light & Sound of God has been in-the-works since about 2008, essentially made up of demos recorded @ James' home studio, and inspired by vintage Soul and R&B. "A New Life" might not be quite as expansive as some of My Morning Jacket's Southern Rock, Reggae, Folk, and Funk-leaning material. But there ain't a damn thing wrong with a good ol' acoustic guitar-driven Pop nugget! Jim James is supposedly laying down some Bluesy vocal riff on Roots emcee Black Thought's long-awaited and hopefully soon forthcoming record, The Talented Mr. Trotter. It's also rumored to feature Tunde Adebimpe (TV on The Radio) and is tentatively slated for a 2013-14 release through the band's label, Def Jam; while Regions of Light & Sound of God has been out since Feb. 5th, so pick that one up, if you haven't yet.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Ghostface Killah is a sharp-tongued, seasoned emcee who came up with Wu-Tang Clan during the height of 1990's Gambino Rap. Even when I first heard Wu-Tang Clan @ 12 after my cousins introduced me to the group, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Ghostface, and Raekwon were instant favourites. The 8 surviving members generally re-form about ever 3-5 years and are supposedly recording an album's-worth of new material, as we speak. RZA has become an increasingly sought-after director/actor since Man with The Iron Fists, already signing onto projects like Gang Related, Happy!, Genghis Khan, and No Man's Land. RZA's own Soul Temple Records imprint will unleash Ghostface Killah's Crime/Horror concept album - Twelve Reasons to Die, which was created alongside Black Dynamite (2009) producer/composer, Adrian Younge this upcoming April 16th. Younge recently spearheaded a Delfonics reunion with founding member William Hart, following the [salty] break-up of Philly's premier chart-topping Sweet-Soul band, which went down nearly 40 years ago.

Soul Temple leaked a third pre-release sample of Twelve Reasons to Die, "Enemies All Around Me," late Tuesday afternoon; Adrian Younge recruited William Hart to lay down some buttery smooth vocals on the hook, who previously sang on "After The Smoke Is Clear" from Ironman (1996). On "The Rise of The Ghostface Killah," RZA details the sheer genesis of Twelve Reasons to Die, "The Delucas pressed Tony [Stark]'s remains into 12 vinyl records. One for each member of the family. But little did they know - He would return..." Although, I have to say, my personal favourite of the 3 Bandcamp-hosted downloads has gotta be "The Sure Shot" (Parts 1-2). No, sadly it's not a Beastie Boys cover... Just a FAN-fucking-TASTIC cymbal crash-led Funky-ass jam! Roughly mid-way through, "The Sure Shot" seamlessly morphs into a 60's Rock "N" Roll-infused Hip-Hop track, if that's even a thing ha. Adrian Younge must be one Hell of a multi-instrumentalist, because these tracks come off sounding so smooth, Funky, and effortless. Soul Temple Records' Bandcamp is currently hosting a number of pre-order packages ranging from $8-55 and including a wide array of various formats: mp3, cassette, CD, vinyl, Deluxe 2-CD, Instrumental LP, T-shirt, limited edition comic book, etc.

Maybe Earl Sweatshirt really was locked up in a Samoanjuvenile detention center from 2010-12 or maybe he was just "chillin' out maxin' relaxin' all cool" for a while. Whatever the real deal was, Odd Future's 19-year-old protegee is back and after a string of non-album loosies, he's finally prepping his long-awaited sophomore album. Doris is rumored to feature production work from Pharrell, Flying Lotus, BADBADNOTGOOD, Samiyam, The Alchemist, Christian Rich... and guest vocals/instrumentals from Thundercat, Frank Ocean, DOOM, Om'mas Keith, Action Bronson, and his fellow Odd Future cohorts. Earl Sweatshirt quietly released "WHOA" late Monday-Tuesday night and eventually proceeded to break The Internet; Tyler, The Creator contributes a few ferocious bars, as well as directorial duties [Wolf Haley] for it's terribly AWESOME zonked out music video.

I mean, getting introspective and deep is cool and all... But I can really get into the rebellious, righteous, and almost Punk Rock nature of "WHOA" over comeback single "Chum."EarlWolf and friends are basically seen getting (w)reckless across a sun-drenched wasteland somewhere in California. Tyler, The Creator conjured up a hard-hitting synth-based beat, which has been under-laid behind a dancing middle-aged ballerina, members of Trash Talk, skateboarding pools, super-fanLucas Vercetti, an interesting coat/boxers ensemble, and plenty of other blood-soaked hi-jinx. Earl Sweatshirt's own imprint, Tan Cressida (Columbia) plans to unleash Doris sometime this Summer [June?], while Tyler, The Creator's new album, Wolf -- complete with 3 different covers -- is out on XL Recordings April 2nd. Here's a few bars from Earl Sweatshirt, in closing: "Rapping hot as fuck in cattle brands, wearing flannel thongs / Grab a bong, momma and some food, beer, tag along... Pissed as Rick Ross' fifth sip off his sixth lager."

Monday, March 11, 2013

It looks like a Four Tet (Kieran Hebden) remix is most likely the closest Justin Timberlake's ever gonna get to Indie Rock super-stardom; Besides that time he played Bon Iver on "The Prince Show" alongside in-house SNL Beyoncé & Jay-Z impersonators. The former N'SYNC crooner seems to be focusing on music full force yet again, after a 6+ year-long absence from the music industry. Justin Timberlakehosted/performed on SNL this past Saturday (joining The 5-Timers Club) and he's guesting on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon all week, shows airing March 11-15th. In what appears to be another act of cleverly-planned promotional, Four Tet's label-sanctioned"Suit & Tie" remix was mysteriously leaked to The Internet late Sunday night, coincidentally followed up by a superior quality version the next day. UPDATE: It's been brought to my attention that The 20/20 Experience's complete 70-minute tracklist is now streaming on iTunes!

Kieran Hebden has somehow managed to morph Timberlake and Jay-Z's trademark voices into almost un-recognizable Funk-drenched vocal fragments. It's a clever Electronic track, which essentially twists Justin Timberlake's smooth come-ons into a hard-hitting House BANGER. While he has yet to unleash The 20/20 Experience (March 15-20th world-wide), Justin Timberlake's already hard @ work on his next project: a Cohen Brothersfilm score with Mumford & Sons frontman, Marcus Mumford, as well as T-Bone Burnett and The Punch Brothers! Four Tet, on the other hand, released yet another new track Monday morning, "For These Times," pulled from NonPlus'Think and Change label comp. New-found buddies Justin Timberlake & Jay-Z are headed out on a [baseball] stadium tour running from July 17-August 16th, which has been dubbed "Legends of The Summer."

Sunday, March 10, 2013

For starters, I'm not entirely sure if How to Be a Man is an upcoming movie or a 3-minute short film; But regardless, this is gonna be fucking awesome! VICE co-founder Gavin McInnes currently runs his own Hipster fashion-ragging site, Street Boners & TV Carnage, frequently appears as a wildcard guest on Red Eye, he just penned How to Piss In Public(Simon & Schuster), and now he's produced his own mid-life crisis/death wish film. Fox Studios somehow greenlit and funded How to Be a Man, which finds McInnes' character Mark coping with the harsh reality of [almost] certain death by "man-boob cancer." He then hires an amateur cameraman named Bryan (Liam Aiken) to document grizzly, yet important life lessons to eventually show to his unborn son. Let's just say that it looks like a crazy/awesome trip through the DOs and DON'Ts of sex, drugs & Rock "N" Roll... Gavin McInnes supposedly wrote it's script in 3 short days, shot it over 12, and edited each day's shots @ night to have it ready in 15 days just in time for Sundance. Director Chadd Harbold finished filming How to Be a Man around Oct. 2012, which was then earnestly shopped around to various film festivals that were instead "looking for a heart-warming tale of a blind Cherokee lesbian in a wheelchair who learns how to dance using her heart and her cat." Needless to say, it'll soon see a limited release followed by a 2014 Netflix re-release.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

"The recurring theme in this group is we are all NASTY producers who can rap, NASTILY. [It's] a completely self-sufficient, well-oiled machine," Jonwayne lamented about Digital Diamonds, via Twitter late Friday afternoon. He released a Nirvana-sampling track online a few months ago along with Scoop DeVille under the group name, which has now expanded to include Chuck Inglish. It's Inglish's first major project since The Cool Kids went on indefinite hiatus [broke up?] While Jonwayne on the other hand, is currently busy mixing/mastering his proper Stones Throw debut and Scoop DeVille has produced tracks for everyone from Snoop Dogg to Das Racist (R.I.P.) and Kendrick Lamar's recent hit singles "The Recipe" and "Poetic Justice."

"Delirious" is a CLASSIC hard-hitting Hip-Hop beat that sounds like it might've been collectively co-produced by Jonwayne, Chuck Inglish & Scoop DeVille. It seems to sample some sort of piano-driven 60's Surf Pop track, which Digital Diamonds have further augmented with Boom-Bap drums and made a little more rhyme-friendly. Here's a few sample bars for those still on-the-fence: "I crease my jeans and I'm shootin' 3's, drivin' buckets in the lean... Crack a 40 of that Old E out the window throwin' up gang signs... I won't stop til I have $1 million gripped in my fists and I win an Oscar." Keep an eye out for Jonwayne and Chuck Inglish's forthcoming albums, untitled and Convertibles. But in the meantime, download/buy some of Jonwayne's Stones Throw-approved beat tapes: CASSETTE, Oodles of Doodles (Deluxe), Jonwayne Fucks Disney, and This Is False.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Anyone remember around like 200-05 when Paris Hilton somehow managed to coin the phrase, "That's HOT!" (loosely meaning crazy, sexy, cool)? Well, I feel like that's kinda how MTV ranks their equally ridiculous annual Hottest MC's list, cause Hip-Hop's such a hard thing to quantize/generalize; It's more about sheer passion, love/loss, money, girls, heartbreak, shared experience(s), etc. While MTV has yet to reveal a finalized list, here's their partial rankings: Meek Mill, Future, A$AP Rocky, Kanye, Big Sean, Drake, Nas, and Rick Ross (#10-3). Kanye soon called into Hot 97, basically lampooning MTV VJ Sway and the network's rapper-ranking process, "I mean, I gave Sway his first TV, man... I was living in Newark [NJ] doing beats for Jay-Z and Beans and all them, and I was getting a new TV and I gave Sway his first TV. I didn't really wanna like even call to talk about the [Hottest MC's] list. I just wanna tell everybody I gave Sway his first TV, and he needs to remember that!"

Danny Brown didn't even give the former music television network a chance to finish counting down their top emcees, before firing off the lyrical sparring match that is "#HottestMC." Foaming @ the mouth over a guitar-and-drum-basedHarry Fraud beat, Brown sends a big middle finger to the man, seemingly hoping he doesn't even make the Hottest MC's list; Danny Brown is a criminally under-rated rapper and obviously miles above manufactured commercial clowns like Drake, Trinidad James, and Meek Mill. Spinning tightly-wound comparisons to infamous Rockstars like Janis Joplin and G.G. Allin, "#HottestMC" tells a tale of sex, drugs, Rock "N" Roll, great highs/lows, drug pushing, and re-birth: "I think about my next line like you think of the next dime. I'm the future and the present, same damn time... You a servant in my world, the Rap Gods curse you. When judgement day's upon you, reality's a virtue."Danny Brown's currently finishing up his XXX follow-up, Old (formerly ODB), which Fool's Gold plans to unleash later on this calendar year. It's been rumored to feature verses and production work from friends-collaborators A$AP Rocky, Rustie, ScHoolboy Q, kitty pryde, Purity Ring, Ab-Soul, Oh No, SKYWLRK, Paul White, and Darq E Freaker.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

I guess since most Hardcore/Post-Punk bands play righteous live shows nearly 1/2-all year 'round, might be the reason why they usually make weird, abstract music videos. Toronto's very own METZ recently teamed up with director Scott Cudmore to create the slightly disturbing, alternate reality that is "Wasted." It's a pretty fucked up ride through a creepy 90's mall-style photo-portrait studio, like where teenie boppers get glamour shots done. We're talkin' about some downright deranged and uncomfortably "seedy"-looking characters: a wonky-eyed/balloon-covered couple, milk-chugging goths, a family with babyface killah son, in-expert swordsmen, strangely unfazed bloody people, etc. Sonically, "Wasted" sounds kinda like a sludge-filled mash-up between Nirvana and The Jesus Lizard, being brutally beaten with rhythmic sledgehammers, and recorded in an abandoned barn by co-producers Graham Walsh and Alexandre Bonenfant ha. Alex Edkins, Hayden Menzies & Chris Slorach [collectively K.A. METZ] are currently prepping for a MASSIVE 4+ month-long tour (March 5-August 6th) across countless American/English providences in support of their self-titledSub Pop debut LP.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

"Apple of My Eye" was one of those songs that when I first heard Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors, almost instantly made me say to myself, "Why the fuck isn't this a single!?" It's a weirdly AWESOME blend of Southern-fried Hip-Hop, smooth Pop-driven melodies, and mid-80's Jazz horn-assisted The Cure, kinda like "Lovecats" or "The 13th." While on indefinite hiatus from OutKast (2007-presnt), Big Boi has really established himself as a viable solo artist and released the second of 2 albums in just 2 short years; Fresh off an 18-month tour, he's supposedly already 9-10 tracks into writing-recording his currently untitled third studio album with long-time production team, Organized Noize.

"Apple of My Eye" kicks off with an innuendo-filled skit starring Big Boi, a cornrowed buddy, and an Epic Meal Time [food truck]. During the final pre-scene, Big Boi's handed a shiny red apple, which smoothly transitions into it's companion Trevor Kane-directed music video. The Sons of Thunder manage to dub up a live-ly backing track while Jake Troth takes up co-lead duties, Now, it's roughly 2:30 minutes deep and the camera follows Big Boi as he walks down into a dingy-looking basement stage. If you ask me, this is the perfect taste of Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors' genre-blending Pop-soaked Hip-Hop sound, which is now available for purchase @ your local record store.

About Me

Greetings, people of the world... Matt Horowitz AKA "The Witzard" here. I'm a 30-year-old college grad hailing from South Jersey. After receiving degrees in both Journalism and Business Management, I started this very blog around 2010 in an effort to share my vast knowledge of Pop Culture to help sharpen my writing chops. I thoroughly enjoy all things Pop Culture and some of my favorite genres include Punk, Hip-Hop, Indie Rock, etc. But I'll practically listen to anything once. I'm also an avid record collector and honestly, almost anything sounds better on wax! Thank you kindly for listening! Please, feel free to send music submissions to sharpcheddar856@gmail.com or Follow The Witzard on Twitter (@SharpCheddar856)